Yes, well: props to the “anti-Muzzie crew” I guess. In any case, the tsunami of racist violence that was promised by paranoid phantasists turned out to be a bit of a damp squib in the end: over 9,000 somewhere between 40 and 60 patriotik folks assembled at a BBQ in Cronulla today; a far cry from THE BIGGEST AUSSIE PRIDE RALLY THIS COUNTRY HAS EVER SEEN that was promised by galloping mythomaniac Shermon Burgess (aka ‘The Great Aussie Patriot’).

Thus while Nick Folkes (Party for Freedom) attended the rally cum BBQ, the meeting was also attended by (United Patriots front leader) Danny Nalliah and Rosalie Crestani of the fun-da-mentalist Xtian Rise Up Australia Party, Kim Vuga, of Love Australia or Leave and glass-blowing serial pest Sergio Redegalli. Ralph Cerminara of the Australian Defence League also rocked up.

Oh yeah: approximately 150 or so anti-fascists attended Cronulla today as well. There were two arrests: one of an Aboriginal man for allegedly swearing at police and that of another man for allegedly disturbing the peace.

Dressed in black, faces covered, members of Antifa are the self-appointed enemies of the far-right.

During the protests and counter-protests that marked the 10-year anniversary of the Cronulla riots on Saturday, Antifa members carrying red, black and white flags emblazoned with the words Antifaschistische Aktion clashed with anti-Islam protesters.

A woman draped in an Australian flag was surrounded by 20 to 30 Antifa members who shouted at her to “take that fascist flag off now”.

Antifa, or anti-fascists, are a loose collection of socialists and anarchists, anti-racists and small-l liberals.

Antifaschistische Aktion is the name of a German anti-fascist organisation that reportedly has its roots in the German communist party in 1932, and was dissolved in 1933 by the Nazis and resurfaced in the 1980s in Europe as a response to resurgent right-wing groups.

Today the hard-left group is transnational, and part of hard-left common at the protests that usually mark G20 and other global leader summits in Europe.

In Australia members or self-professed members of the group have become an increasingly common sight at rallies organised to oppose the far-right protests held by groups like the United Patriots Front and Reclaim Australia.

Antifa Australia’s Facebook page has as its most recent post on November 17: “These deranged far-right scum want to damage society and bring everyone down. If the Authorities won’t stop hate speech, the leftist community will now need to implement their own authority via grassroots action.”

It describes itself as the “militant Left-Wing”, and in October wrote on Facebook that “a war … will break out in Cronulla when the far-right hold their rally”.

“We are one against the racists and their masters of the rich Australian ruling class,” the post read.

Antifa’s WordPress website lists its goals as opposing fascism, as well as to “defend the working class and their organisations from fascist attack”.

In keeping with the groups historical links to socialism, it also paints itself as anti-capitalist.

Members of Antifa in Australia have deliberately remained anonymous.

That’s despite attempts by opposing groups to out some of its most outspoken Australian advocates such as Andy Fleming, a pseudonym used by a Melbourne-based anti-fascist who runs a blog called slackbastard that tracks the far-right movement.

A few points:

• In general, ‘antifa’ is simply an umbrella (generic) term used to describe a variety of ‘anti-fascist’ actions, projects and organisations. In Australia, antifascist activism extends back to the 1920s and the various struggles between fascist and anti-fascist groups within the Italian diaspora. When WWII broke out, many Italians were interned. One of those interned was Francesco Fantin, an anarchist and active anti-fascist. He was murdered by fascists at Loveday internment camp in South Australia on November 16, 1942. See also : The Proletarian migrants: Fascism and Italian Anarchists in Australia | The Faber Fantin Research Project Site.

• The German KPD was one of many left organisations to organise dedicated anti-fascist groups. Antifaschistische Aktion was one such group which also included (and was preceded by) the Proletarian Hundreds, Red Front Fighters, Anti-Fascist Youth Guards and others. The SPD organised its Reichsbanner group, and other left parties and tendencies had their own equivalents. In contemporary Germany (and elsewhere in Europe), there are a number of groups which have adopted the label ‘Antifaschistische Aktion’, sometimes with direct links to communist parties, more often drawing from a broader left milieu. The revival of anti-fascism in Germany was one of the results of re-unification, which witnessed an upsurge in racist and neo-Nazi violence. In this instance, AFA drew upon a wider anti-authoritarian tendency often described as ‘autonomist’ and typically hostile to authoritarian socialisms.

• ‘Antifa Australia’ emerged in 2008 as a social media presence. It’s not a group as such but exists as a promotional tool for a particular interpretation of ‘anti-fascist’ politics in Australia. Between then and now, a number of other ‘antifa’ political projects have emerged, and 2015 in particular has witnessed some mild growth in the number of those involved in or in some way associated with the loose networks that have evolved in response to the emergence of Reclaim Australia, the United Patriots Front and allied forces.

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Tim Elliott doesn’t do himself any favours with that bigoted slur. Really dumb. He just looks like an attention seeker on his Twitter account.

The anti-fascists could do the cause of fighting racism a big favour and stop saying that the Australian flag is “racist” and getting into fights with everyone who isn’t as far left as them. I cannot stand the flag with its Union Jack but action like this is just stupid. It does not endear them to most Australians. It also puts off others in the left from supporting their cause. They’re just as cult-like as Socialist Alternative (or are they the same).

@Keep the LNP Out: “The anti-fascists could do the cause of fighting racism a big favour and stop saying that the Australian flag is “racist” and getting into fights with everyone who isn’t as far left as them.”

1. Except that it IS racist. It’s the flag of a nation built on stolen land and celebrates the dispossession and genocide of the Indigenous people of this continent. It’s also the flag adopted for the nation whose Parliament put the White Australia Policy into legislation as one of its very first items of business. And it’s the flag under which Australian troops have fought in imperialist wars from the very day of Federation (troops from all Australian colonies were fighting the Second Boer War when Australia was officially formed) to today. Racism is woven into the very fabric of the Australian state and Australian nationalism, so its flag – however designed – is racist.

2. Antifa aren’t getting into fights “with everyone who isn’t as far left as them.” They are fighting Fascists – and for good reason. A Fascist group is not a debating society, but a standing conspiracy to murder. Breaking up a Fascist organisation is an act of self-defence and, if done using reasonable force, entirely justified.

Australia was no more than a baron land before colonialism. Today, Australia sits number two on the Human Development Index ranking out of 187 different countries. You may view Australia as a ‘racist’ and ‘backwards’ nation, but the facts show otherwise.

Something smells a little bullshitty re your claim about Australia’s no. 2 H.D.I. status, Sam. I would think that Europe’s social democracies would all be ahead of Oz on that front; N.Z. too probably. I would also think that the H.D.I. in some of the places that Australian Aborigines have been exiled to would be among the lowest in the world.

Didn’t reach the rank of Earl, then? No House of Lords for Australia, eh!

baron n. Member of the lowest order of British nobility; holder of similar foreign title; great merchant in a specified commodity (beer baron); powerful or influential person; (Hist.) one who held lands etc. from king. (Concise Oxford Dictionary)

and in the book that the author wrote. I am aware of problems with Gammage’s framework, but the valid criticisms of it don’t undermine the central thesis – that the Australian landscape was under active management by Aboriginal people before and until their dispossession by the invading British colonists.

Sam: “Today, Australia sits number two on the Human Development Index ranking out of 187 different countries. You may view Australia as a ‘racist’ and ‘backwards’ nation, but the facts show otherwise.”

Futilitarian has taken issue with the accuracy of the first statement. I dispute the logic of the argument. Even if Sam’s statement about the Human Development Index is correct (I haven’t checked), it doesn’t negate my allegations. I said that Australia is a nation built on stolen land. The fact that it is a RICH nation built on stolen land is perfectly consistent with my critique. Some of the richest nations on Earth have been built on stolen land.

“…that the Australian landscape was under active management by Aboriginal people before and until their dispossession by the invading British colonists.”

What management was that? Please elaborate?

“I said that Australia is a nation built on stolen land. The fact that it is a RICH nation built on stolen land is perfectly consistent with my critique. Some of the richest nations on Earth have been built on stolen land.”

Neither SAlt nor antifa are cults. People are free to leave at any stage. SAlt are not drugging their members. Fascist groups are more cultist as they kill or attempt to kill people who try and leave. Many fascist groups are full of delusional drones who lie to themselves daily about their true identities. Saleam has lead his entire life lying to himself and others about his identity. He has built cults based on nazi ideology and has defectors killed so they don’t spill the beans.

The Australian flag is both racist and a joke. It stands for Anglo Saxon imperialism and genocide of first nations people. The federal star was added to symbolize Australian colonial control over Papua New Guinea. It is a joke because the flag suggests Australia is tied to the apron strings of mother England. For all the racists who say the diggers fought under this flag the fact is they didn’t because Australia didn’t officially have a flag during world war 1.

Apparently at the Cronulla gathering someone yelled out to an anti Nazi I bet you aren’t even from Cronulla. A perfect response would be who would want to be from an insular overwhelmingly white neighborhood that has Scott Morrison as its federal representative. Cronulla is a very conservative affluent white protestant neighborhood like Brighton. John Howard actually said Cronulla is the epitome of what Australia should stand for: White, protestant, right wing, and wealthy. To hell with that.

Here a few facts about Australia to all those hatriots out there.
The only western democracy with no bill of rights.
The only English speaking country that doesn’t allow same sex marriage.
Mandatory detention for refugees in offshore concentration camps.
No treaty with indigenous people. No acknowledgement of the genocide of indigenous people. Ongoing genocide of indigenous people. Deaths in custody. Over representation of indigenous people in prisons. No land rights for indigenous people. A racist intervention.
The British Royal family is the head of state. An unelected governor general, acting on behalf of the crown, can sack the prime minister.
No citizens initiated referendums. No power of recall for politicians who break their promises.
No seats in Parliament for indigenous people to put forth their agendas.
No plan to tackle climate change and promote renewable energy over fossil fuels.
No plans to make rich pay tax, instead we have a government that defends tax evading corporations while slashing funding to health, welfare, education, and public housing etc.
No government owned banks that would put downward pressure on interest rates.
No mass public housing projects planned to house all those in need. Australia could solve the homeless problem. Fund public housing, stop funding detention centers, and military incursions.
The only country in the world to have negative gearing that gives rich people a tax break for buying multiple homes. Axe negative gearing, build public housing projects and house prices would fall dramatically.
No anti trust laws which means monopolies like Coles and Woolworths will continue to grow while independent stores will shut because they cannot compete.
No government owned telecommunications. Privately owned utilities. Sky rocketing prices.
A government that won’t take over the running of industries if they go under. A government that doesn’t foster the retraining of workers in sustainable industries.A government that doesn’t get ex auto workers to build public transportation.
A government that funds private schools and lets public schools rot.
A country that is happy to wage war yet not welcome people fleeing those wars.
A country where the prime minister can say we are going to war and no vote is put to parliament. No referendums are put to the people on going to war.
A country where unjust legislation cannot be measured against a bill of rights and if in violation of said bill can be challenged in court and over turned.
A country with more anti terror legislation than anywhere else in the world.
So what the hell are you trying to reclaim?

Sam, the H.D.I. measures say nothing about how wealth is distributed. The Gini index is a reasonable measure of wealth distribution, and Australia, while not bad, is not among the best. Of what relevance is a high H.D.I. to someone living in poverty, which, in Australia, is running at about one person in eight?

The quotes you attributed to me were not made by me so direct your queries to the person who made them. I’m sure he’ll be happy to reply.